On Nov 1, the construction of Jiangbei(the Yangtze River North) Expressway, which belongs to the transport network of Fanba(transshipment over the Three Gorges Dam), was launched in Taipingxi Town of the Yiling District, marking a remarkable progress made in building Yichang as a regional transportation hub and in establishing a comprehensive transportation system for the Three Gorges area. (Reporter: Lei Pengcheng)
On the same day, Huang Chuping, the Provincial Standing Committee Member and Party Secretary, and Ma Xuming, the Mayor and Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, both came to the construction site to make on-the-spot inspection.
Huang Chuping applauds the outstanding contribution that Hubei Transportation Investment Group has made to the development of the Yichang transportation network, and expresses his thanks to all the efforts made by the builders participating in the project. He points out that the construction of the Three Gorges comprehensive transportation network has been written into the national “13th Five-Year Plan”. Thus since the beginning of this year, the related departments of the city have seized the important opportunity brought about by this national strategy and launched a large number of transport projects such as the building of the Baiyang Yangtze River Bridge, and thus made great breakthrough in improving the Three Gorges transportation network. As a result, a group of major transport projects have been completed. The construction of Jiangbei Expressway signifies that the significant progress has been made in the construction of the Three Gorges’ comprehensive transportation system. Additionally, it is of great significance in facilitating the role of Yichang as an important regional integrated transport hub. He points out that we need to achieve the aim of building a comprehensive transportation network in accordance with the concept of “integrating railway, waterway, highway, airlines, pipelines, and network”(“six in one”), to finish the abutment between Jiangbei Expressway and other transport projects and to promote better development of Yichang’s transport network.
Mr. Ma Xuming has given instructions in speeding up the construction of Jiangbei Expressway. He says, if we want to develop the economy, a good transportation network will be the first to develop. He adds that relevant units and departments involved should always take into consideration the primary goal of development of the whole city and cooperate with each other in order to provide the most attentive services for the construction organizations and create the best environment for the project construction. He hopes that the construction organizations will be able to complete the project on time, with a secured construction environment. The quality of the projects should be able to stand the test of the time.
Mr. Chen Zhang, the chairman of Hubei Transportation Investment Group, says that the construction of Jiangbei Expressway has encountered difficulties because it has high bridge-tunnel ratio, complex geographical conditions and high environmental requirements, but they have confidence in the successful completion of the project. He says that they will always adhere to the principle of being efficient and pragmatic and ensure that the project will be completed on schedule.
It is learned that Jiangbei Expressway runs from the TaipingXi New Port, passes the Taiping River, Letian River, Liantuo Village, Xiaofeng River and Zhangiiakou, and finally gets connected with the Shanghai-Chengdu Expressway in Xinping Village. Jiangbei Expressway is an important transport corridor and tourist route and will effectively promote the convergence between water transport and road transport in Jiangbei. The total length of the road is about 36 kilometers, with a total investment of 4.8 billion yuan. The planned construction period is 42 months. The designed speed of Jiangbei Expressway is 80 km / h; the roadbed width of two-way four lanes expressway is 24.5 meters. The main line mileage is 35.8 km, consisting of 36 bridges (about 9.64 km), 10 tunnels (about 11.67 km), and the bridge-tunnel ratio is 60%. Jiangbei Expressway will be invested and managed according to BOT + EPC mode.
Mr. Long Chuanhua, General Manager of Hubei Transportation Investment Group, Mr. Xiao Jisheng, General Manager of China Communications Group, Mr. Chi Rongyi, vice-general manager of China Railway Construction Bridge Limited Company, Mr. Ma Xuejun, Municipal Standing Committee member and Secretary General of the Municipal Party Committee, and Deputy Mayor Lan Yin all participated in this inspection of the construction.